Asymmetric Planetary Nebulae V

Bowness-on-Windermere
Lake District
United Kingdom
20-25 June 2010

Introduction

The intricate
structures shown by many planetary nebulae have for many years
presented one of the most vexing problems in astrophysics. The origin
and development of the asymmetries, both on large and small scales, is
still not understood. Similar structures are now seen in a variety of
circumstellar environments, including nova shells and SN1987A. A
common physics acts in these different classes of objects.

Click to enlarge!
See also Chris Morisset's Picasa album of conference photos

The origin of the asymmetries has been sought in, amongst others,
the interaction with binary companions and the effect of magnetic
fields. Current indications (but subject to revision) are that only
binarity provides a plausible origin, but the further development
depends on magnetic fields and other aspects.

The rapid development of the field, and the application in many
areas of astrophysics, have been the subject of a series of
meetings. The next meeting in the series, scheduled for 20-25 June,
2010, will be held in the UK, in Bowness on
Windermere in the Lake
District.

Location

For information on the UK's largest national park and the area,
see our page here.

Participants

Programme

Previous conferences in this series

APN4, June 2007, was
organized by the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes and the Instituto de
Astrofisica de Canarias. It was held in Los Cancajos, a quiet beach
resort on the island of La Palma. APN4 was dedicated to Hugo Schwarz.